Accident Fault Determination for Autonomous Vehicles

1. A computer-implemented method for automatically evaluating vehicle operation to detect occurrence of a collision and determine fault, the method comprising: monitoring, by one or more processors during a vehicle trip including the collision, operation of a vehicle having one or more autonomous operation features for controlling the vehicle; recording, in a memory, a plurality of data entries of operating data regarding the monitored operation of the vehicle at a plurality of times during the vehicle trip obtained from an on-board computer of the vehicle, wherein each data entry of the operating data includes (i) sensor data from one or more sensors disposed within the vehicle and (ii) use data regarding control of the vehicle by the one or more autonomous operation features, including information regarding use levels of each of the one or more autonomous operation features at the plurality of times during the vehicle trip including the accident and information regarding control decisions generated by the one or more autonomous operation features and implemented by the one or more autonomous operation features to control the vehicle at the plurality of times during the vehicle trip; identifying, automatically by the one or more processors, at least one autonomous operation feature of the one or more autonomous operation features that was operating to control the vehicle at a time of the collision based upon the operating data; analyzing, automatically by the one or more processors, the sensor data in the plurality of data entries to determine conditions in the vehicle environment during a time interval prior to and including the time of the collision; determining, automatically by the one or more processors, that the conditions in the vehicle environment during the time interval were inadequate for operation of the at least one autonomous operation feature based upon the sensor data of the corresponding data entries; analyzing, automatically by the one or more processors, the use data in the data entries of the time interval to attempt to identify a data entry indicating an attempt by the at least one autonomous operation feature to pass control to the driver; determining, automatically by the one or more processors, that at least one of the following control transfer failures occurred prior to the collision: (i) the at least one autonomous operation feature failed to attempt to pass control to a driver within the vehicle prior to the collision, determined by detecting a failure to identify at least one data entry indicating an attempt by the at least one autonomous operation feature to pass control to the driver prior to a time of the collision, or (ii) the at least one autonomous operation feature failed to provide sufficient time to transfer control of the vehicle during an attempt to pass control to the driver prior to the collision, determined by calculating a time elapsed between the data entry identified as indicating a first identified attempt by the at least one autonomous operation feature to pass control to the driver during the time interval and the time of the collision is below a threshold period for control transfers; determining, automatically by the one or more processors, the following based upon the operating data and the determined occurrence of at least one of the control transfer failures: (1) a first percentage of fault for the collision associated with the at least one autonomous operation feature; and (2) a second percentage of fault for the collision associated with the driver; and generating, automatically by the one or more processors, a report including information regarding the determined allocation of fault.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the conditions in the vehicle environment at the time of the collision include one or more of the following: fog or manual traffic direction.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the threshold period for control transfers corresponds to a minimum time interval that is adequate for an alert driver to resume control of a vehicle.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein: the report further includes information regarding a cause of the collision; and generating the report includes generating the following information regarding the cause of the collision: a summary of at least a portion of the sensor data, images associated with the collision, or video associated with the collision.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining, automatically by the one or more processors, an adjustment to one or more risk levels associated with the at least one autonomous operation feature based at least in part upon the determined first percentage of fault; and adjusting, automatically by the one or more processors, one or more risk levels associated with an insurance policy associated with another autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle having the at least one autonomous operation feature based upon the determined adjustment.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining, automatically by the one or more processors, an adjustment to an insurance policy associated with the vehicle based at least in part upon the determined first and second percentages of fault; and causing, by the one or more processors, the adjustment to the insurance policy to be implemented.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6 , further comprising: determining, automatically by the one or more processors, based at least in part upon the operating data: (3) a third percentage of fault for the collision associated with one or more other vehicles involved in the collision, wherein the adjustment to the insurance policy associated with the vehicle is further determined based at least in part upon the determined third percentage of fault.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining, automatically by the one or more processors, the occurrence of the collision based upon the operating data.

9. A computer system for automatically evaluating vehicle operation to detect occurrence of a collision and determine fault, comprising: one or more processors; and a non-transitory program memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer system to: monitor, during a vehicle trip including the collision, operation of a vehicle having one or more autonomous operation features for controlling the vehicle; record a plurality of data entries of operating data regarding the monitored operation of the vehicle at a plurality of times during the vehicle trip obtained from an on-board computer of the vehicle, wherein each data entry of the operating data includes (i) sensor data from one or more sensors disposed within the vehicle and (ii) use data regarding control of the vehicle by the one or more autonomous operation features, including information regarding use levels of each of the one or more autonomous operation features at the plurality of times during the vehicle trip including the accident and information regarding control decisions generated by the one or more autonomous operation features and implemented by the one or more autonomous operation features to control the vehicle at the plurality of times during the vehicle trip; identify at least one autonomous operation feature of the one or more autonomous operation features that was operating to control the vehicle at a time of the collision based upon the operating data; analyze the sensor data in the plurality of data entries to determine conditions in the vehicle environment during a time interval prior to and including the time of the collision; determine that the conditions in the vehicle environment during the time interval were inadequate for operation of the at least one autonomous operation feature based upon the sensor data of the corresponding data entries; analyze the use data in the data entries of the time interval to attempt to identify a data entry indicating an attempt by the at least one autonomous operation feature to pass control to the driver; determine that at least one of the following control transfer failures occurred prior to the collision: (i) the at least one autonomous operation feature failed to attempt to pass control to a driver within the vehicle prior to the collision, determined by detecting a failure to identify at least one data entry indicating an attempt by the at least one autonomous operation feature to pass control to the driver prior to a time of the collision, or (ii) the at least one autonomous operation feature failed to provide sufficient time to transfer control of the vehicle during an attempt to pass control to the driver prior to the collision, determined by calculating a time elapsed between the data entry identified as indicating a first identified attempt by the at least one autonomous operation feature to pass control to the driver during the time interval and the time of the collision is below a threshold period for control transfers; determine the following based upon the operating data and the determined occurrence of at least one of the control transfer failures: (1) a first percentage of fault for the collision associated with the at least one autonomous operation feature; and (2) a second percentage of fault for the collision associated with the driver; and generate, a report including information regarding the determined allocation of fault.

10. The computer system of claim 9 , wherein the threshold period for control transfers corresponds to a minimum time interval that is adequate for an alert driver to resume control of a vehicle.

11. The computer system of claim 9 , wherein: the report further includes information regarding a cause of the collision; and the executable instructions that cause the computer system to generate the report further cause the computer system to generate the following information regarding the cause of the collision: a summary of at least a portion of the sensor data, images associated with the collision, or video associated with the collision.

12. The computer system of claim 9 , wherein the executable instructions further cause the computer system to: determine an adjustment to one or more risk levels associated with the at least one autonomous operation feature based at least in part upon the determined first percentage of fault; and adjust one or more risk levels associated with an insurance policy associated with another autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle having the at least one autonomous operation feature based upon the determined adjustment.

13. The computer system of claim 9 , wherein the executable instructions further cause the computer system to: determining, automatically by the one or more processors, an adjustment to an insurance policy associated with the vehicle based at least in part upon the determined first and second percentages of fault; and causing, by the one or more processors, the adjustment to the insurance policy to be implemented.

14. The computer system of claim 9 , wherein the executable instructions further cause the computer system to: determine the occurrence of the collision based upon the operating data.

15. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions for automatically evaluating vehicle operation to detect occurrence of a collision and determine fault that, when executed by at least one processor of a computer system, cause the computer system to: monitor, during a vehicle trip including the collision, operation of a vehicle having one or more autonomous operation features for controlling the vehicle; record a plurality of data entries of operating data regarding the monitored operation of the vehicle at a plurality of times during the vehicle trip obtained from an on-board computer of the vehicle, wherein each data entry of the operating data includes (i) sensor data from one or more sensors disposed within the vehicle and (ii) use data regarding control of the vehicle by the one or more autonomous operation features, including information regarding use levels of each of the one or more autonomous operation features at the plurality of times during the vehicle trip including the accident and information regarding control decisions generated by the one or more autonomous operation features and implemented by the one or more autonomous operation features to control the vehicle at the plurality of times during the vehicle trip; identify at least one autonomous operation feature of the one or more autonomous operation features that was operating to control the vehicle at a time of the collision based upon the operating data; analyze the sensor data in the plurality of data entries to determine conditions in the vehicle environment during a time interval prior to and including the time of the collision; determine that the conditions in the vehicle environment during the time interval were inadequate for operation of the at least one autonomous operation feature based upon the sensor data of the corresponding data entries; analyze the use data in the data entries of the time interval to attempt to identify a data entry indicating an attempt by the at least one autonomous operation feature to pass control to the driver; determine that at least one of the following control transfer failures occurred prior to the collision: (i) the at least one autonomous operation feature failed to attempt to pass control to a driver within the vehicle prior to the collision, determined by detecting a failure to identify at least one data entry indicating an attempt by the at least one autonomous operation feature to pass control to the driver prior to a time of the collision, or (ii) the at least one autonomous operation feature failed to provide sufficient time to transfer control of the vehicle during an attempt to pass control to the driver prior to the collision, determined by calculating a time elapsed between the data entry identified as indicating a first identified attempt by the at least one autonomous operation feature to pass control to the driver during the time interval and the time of the collision is below a threshold period for control transfers; determine the following based upon the operating data and the determined occurrence of at least one of the control transfer failures: (1) a first percentage of fault for the collision associated with the at least one autonomous operation feature; and (2) a second percentage of fault for the collision associated with the driver; and generate, a report including information regarding the determined allocation of fault.

16. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the threshold period for control transfers corresponds to a minimum time interval that is adequate for an alert driver to resume control of a vehicle.

17. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein: the report further includes information regarding a cause of the collision; and the executable instructions that cause the computer system to generate the report further cause the computer system to generate the following information regarding the cause of the collision: a summary of at least a portion of the sensor data, images associated with the collision, or video associated with the collision.

18. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , further storing executable instructions further cause the computer system to: determine an adjustment to one or more risk levels associated with the at least one autonomous operation feature based at least in part upon the determined first percentage of fault; and adjust one or more risk levels associated with an insurance policy associated with another autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle having the at least one autonomous operation feature based upon the determined adjustment.

19. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , further storing executable instructions further cause the computer system to: determining, automatically by the one or more processors, an adjustment to an insurance policy associated with the vehicle based at least in part upon the determined first and second percentages of fault; and causing, by the one or more processors, the adjustment to the insurance policy to be implemented.

20. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , further storing executable instructions further cause the computer system to: determine the occurrence of the collision based upon the operating data.